Abidjan – An Interpol-led operation in West Africa has “rescued” 90 victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour, including 56 children, the international police agency said on Wednesday.
Police raids and vehicle checks earlier this month across Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo also led to the arrest of 15 suspected human traffickers, it said.
“Of those rescued… 56 were underage victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour in gold mines, open-air markets and domestic settings,” it said.
In Ivory Coast, a vehicle check led to the identification of a group of 35 victims, including eight minors, accompanied by a known human trafficking suspect and his accomplice.
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In Burkina Faso, “10 minors were identified as they travelled to an illegal gold mine, where they had been promised work” and their “employer” was arrested.
In Benin, authorities rescued four children from forced labour in the Dantokpa market in the port city of Cotonou.
In Togo, a Nigerian woman was intercepted en route to Mali in the company of five women, including three minors.
“Her phone revealed that although they had officially been recruited to work in a hair salon, they were going to work in clubs for the purpose of sexual exploitation,” Interpol said.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Unsplash
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